Fahrenheit 451 New ending

Part 3

"Montag!" He heard a faint cry, so small Montag felt that he was imagining it. He tried to ignore it, to shove it to the back of his mind, to forget all about it, but his body rebelled. Against his will, he found his ear crane forward to hear that cry sound once more. "Montag! Come on, Montag!" The voice was closer now, getting louder. "Hello? Montag, you there?!" The person seemed to be resigned as if he thought that Montag was dead or dying and there was no saving him.

Montag couldn't stand it anymore. He gave out a wild shout and stood up screaming at the top of his lungs, "I'm here! I'm alive, I'm still breathing I'm here..." He faltered as no sound came back. He cursed his foolish thoughts, his silly hopeful head filled with nonsense and nothing. Suddenly, the trees shook and out came a figure stumbling slowly toward him. Slowly more and more came out until there were about a dozen or so figures stumbling toward him, all with grimy faces, all wearing the expression of disbelief upon their faces.

"Montag?" one of them quietly whispered, his disbelief slowly turning to delight. "Montag! It's you, you're alive!" He said this like a complex sentence none of them quite understood yet, but that all of them would soon. "He's alive, you hear me? He's alive!" All the men started laughing giddily, faces shining with delight, but also with sorrow.

Montag realized with a slow sinking feeling that not everyone was there, that a face was missing from the huddle, an empty spot that would never be filled as long as he lived, a face that would haunt his dreams forever, a face that would be his last image before he died, lying on his deathbed, a face that would haunt them forevermore.